CN115215186A

CN115215186A - Projection system of passenger conveyor

Info

Publication number: CN115215186A
Application number: CN202210416353.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 石井幸男
Original assignee: Toshiba Elevator Co Ltd
Current assignee: Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corp
Priority date: 2021-04-21
Filing date: 2022-04-20
Publication date: 2022-10-21
Also published as: JP7098781B1; JP2022166743A

Abstract

In some cases, an escalator for transportation purposes projects an image on a step as a place where information is provided to a user, but it is difficult to determine a dead space based on a usage situation. In order to eliminate this difficulty, a projection system is provided which determines an empty space according to the presence or absence of a user of an escalator and projects appropriate contents to a large extent in a manner not to overlap with a part of the user in accordance with the use condition. The projection system of the escalator, which is connected with a plurality of annular steps for moving, comprises: a projection device which is located above the appearance position of the stairs on the lower floor side and outputs the contents such as images and videos displayed across a plurality of stairs; a user presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a user is present on the step, thereby determining whether or not the step is idle; a content selecting unit that selects a content to be output based on the determination result; and a processing unit that outputs the determined projection instruction of the content to the projection device for processing.

Description

Projection system of passenger conveyor

Cross Reference to Related Applications

This application is based on the benefit of priority of prior japanese patent application No. 2021-72148, and claims the benefit thereof, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Technical Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a projection system for a passenger conveyor, particularly an escalator.

Background

Passenger conveyors have conventionally been used for the purpose of continuously conveying users or goods. In particular, in escalators installed in commercial facilities, various designs using images or videos have been made in order to effectively use the escalators as places where information is provided to users.

As a method of displaying visual information, for example, there is a method of drawing an advertisement on an armrest, a side panel, a step, or the like by a package or the like, but it is difficult to change advertisement contents in real time.

As a system for delivering image information with immediacy to the field of vision of passengers, which are users who are riding on an elevator, by projection or the like, there are a system for projecting light from the front above and projecting a projection map as a light-emitting advertisement onto an armrest, a system for projecting an image or the like onto a ceiling so that the projection position of the image or the like follows the movement of the passengers, and a system for projecting the image or the like onto the back of the passengers on the front.

In addition, as a system for displaying an advertisement on a tread surface or a riser of a step, there are a system for displaying an image or the like from inside a truss to a step side, a system for displaying electric power via a light emitting element provided in a step, and a system for displaying an image or the like using a riser as a screen.

Disclosure of Invention

However, depending on the presence or absence of a user or the usage state of the escalator, there is a problem that publicity is poor even when an image or the like is projected on a handrail or a tread, and visual impact is poor.

In addition, when displaying images or the like on steps, although this is effective for passengers who are using escalators, it is not good for pedestrians or the like at a distance. For example, there is no description of performing projection or the like matching the position of an object to be viewed in the case where there is a passenger or in the case where there is no passenger. In order to maintain the comfort of movement while making efficient use of dead space, it is desirable to consider the projection not to overlap with a portion of the user.

For this reason, as long as the usage state of the escalator can be grasped, and the range and the image are selected based on the presence or absence of the user or the like and displayed in a wide range, the space can be effectively used. Therefore, the present embodiment provides a system for determining the presence or absence of a user riding an escalator and projecting an appropriate image on a step.

Thus, the free space can be determined, and the content with instantaneity can be projected in a wide range of the escalator in accordance with the use condition. For example, even in an escalator having a longer traveling distance than usual, an escalator in which the degree of congestion fluctuates depending on the time zone, or an escalator in which the frequency of use is not relatively high, it is possible to effectively use the vacant space over a wide range of steps, and visually direct users to pay attention to, display advertisements, and the like.

The projection system of the escalator of the present embodiment is a projection system of an escalator in which a plurality of steps connected in an endless shape travel, and includes: a projection device which is located above the appearance position of the steps on the lower floor side and outputs content displayed across a plurality of steps in conjunction with the escalator; a user presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a user is present on the step, thereby determining whether or not the step is idle; a content selection unit that selects the content to be output based on a determination result of the user presence determination unit; and a processing unit that outputs the decided projection instruction of the content to the projection device to process the content.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view of a general escalator.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an escalator of an embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a projection position of the content when no user gets on the steps.

Fig. 4 is a front view showing a projection position of the content when no user gets on the steps.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing distances for projective transformation when projecting to a rung.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing the appearance of projective transformation.

Fig. 7 is a diagram relating to three-dimensional recognition when estimating the projected position to the steps.

Fig. 8 is a block diagram showing a configuration necessary for projection in the embodiment.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart (1) of the embodiment.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a projection position of contents when a user gets on a step.

Fig. 11 is a diagram (1) showing an operation.

Fig. 12 is a diagram (2) showing the operation.

Fig. 13 is a block diagram showing a configuration necessary for projection in the embodiment.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart (2) of the embodiment.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing a content projection position in a case where a user riding on a step moves.

Fig. 16 is a front view showing a content projection position in the case of the lowering operation.

Fig. 17 is a front view showing a content projection position in a case where a user stands close to either one side.

Detailed Description

< first embodiment >

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description of the embodiments, an escalator will be described as an example of a passenger conveyor. In the following description, the same reference numerals are given to substantially or substantially the same functions and components, and the description is made as necessary.

The construction of the escalator 10 will be described with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a side view of a conventional escalator 10, using

support angle irons

2, 3 to support a truss 12 as a frame of the escalator 10 across upper and lower floors of a building 1.

As shown in fig. 1, a drive device 18 for moving the steps 30, a pair of left and right drive sprockets (drive wheels) 24, and a pair of left and

right sprockets

27, 27 are provided inside the machine room 14 on the upper floor side of the upper end portion of the truss 12. The drive device 18 includes a motor 20, a reduction gear, an output sprocket attached to an output shaft of the reduction gear, a drive chain 22 driven by the output sprocket, and a disc brake that stops the rotation of the motor 20 and maintains a stopped state. The drive chain 22 rotates the drive sprocket 24. The pair of left and right drive sprockets 24, 24 and the pair of left and

right sprockets

27, 27 are connected by a coupling belt, not shown, and rotate in synchronization. Further, a control device 50 for controlling the motor 20, the disc brake, and the like is provided in the machine room 14 on the upper floor side.

A driven sprocket (driven pulley) 26 is provided inside the machine room 16 on the lower floor side of the lower end of the truss 12. A pair of left and right

endless step chains

28, 28 are bridged between the drive sprocket 24 on the upper floor side and the driven sprocket 26 on the lower floor side. As shown in fig. 1, front wheels 301 of a plurality of steps 30 are attached to the pair of right and

left step chains

28, 28 at equal intervals. The front wheel 301 of the step 30 travels along a front guide rail, not shown, fixed to the truss 12, and is engaged with the recess in the outer peripheral portion of the drive sprocket 24 and the recess in the outer peripheral portion of the driven sprocket 26 to turn up and down. As shown in fig. 1, rear wheels 302 ride on rear guide rails 25 secured to truss 12.

A pair of right and

left skirt guards

44, 44 and a pair of right and

left handrails

36, 36 are erected on the right and left sides of the truss 12. A handrail guide 39 is provided on the upper portion of the balustrade 36, and the handrail belt 38 moves along the handrail guide 39. A front skirt guard 40 on the upper floor side is provided on the lower front portion on the upper floor side of the balustrade 36, a front skirt guard 42 on the lower floor side is provided on the lower front portion on the lower floor side of the balustrade 36, and

access ports

46, 48 as access ports of the handrail belt 38 protrude from the

front skirt guards

40, 42, respectively. Skirt guards 44 are provided on the lower side of the balustrade 36, and the steps 30 run between a pair of left and

right skirt guards

44, 44. Operation panels 52, 56 and

speakers

54, 58 are provided on the inner surfaces of the skirt guards 44 of the upper and lower floors, respectively.

The handrail belt 38 enters the front skirt guard 40 from the entrance/exit portion 46 on the upper floor side, rides on the belt sprocket 27 via the guide roller group 64, then moves within the skirt guard 44 via the guide roller group 66, and emerges outside the front skirt guard 42 from the entrance/exit portion 48 on the lower floor side. Then, the belt sprocket 27 rotates together with the drive sprocket 24, whereby the handrail belt 38 moves in synchronization with the steps 30. Further, a pressing member 68 is provided, and the pressing member 68 is used to press the traveling handrail belt 38 against the rotating belt sprocket 27. A boarding/alighting plate 32 on the upper floor side is horizontally provided at a boarding/alighting port on the top wall surface of the machine room 14 on the upper floor side, and a boarding/alighting plate 34 on the lower floor side is horizontally provided at a boarding/alighting port on the top wall surface of the machine room 16 on the lower floor side. A comb-tooth-shaped comb member 60 is provided at the front end of the boarding/alighting plate 32, and the steps 30 enter or exit from the comb member 60. Further, comb-teeth-shaped comb teeth 62 are also provided on the ascending/descending plate 34.

The step 30 has a flat tread (tread) 303 and a curved riser (tread riser) 304 as a body for transporting passengers. In the case of the ascending operation, the user moves up from the access panel 34 on the lower floor side to the tread 303 of the step 30. When the step 30 reaches the entrance of the upper floor, a passenger who is a user who is riding on the step goes down from the tread 303 of the step 30 to the landing plate 32 on the upper floor side. In the case of the descending operation, the user moves up from the access panel 32 on the upper floor side to the tread 303 of the step 30. When the step 30 reaches the entrance of the lower floor, the passenger descends from the tread 303 of the step 30 onto the landing plate 34 on the lower floor side.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of an escalator of an embodiment. A portion of the erected step 30 can be seen by a user at the periphery, and the skirt guard 44, the balustrade 36, and the handrail guide 39 are erected on the truss 12 and extend in the longitudinal direction. Near the ceiling, an imaging device (camera) 70 and a projection device (projector) 72 are provided. The projection device 72 is provided above the step appearance position at a landing entrance on the lower floor side of the escalator 10, for example.

However, the installation position is not limited as long as it is above the access panel 34 on the lower floor side. In addition, a plurality of projection devices 72 may be provided at different positions. The imaging device 70 has a function of monitoring the operation of the escalator 10 to acquire an image of the periphery of the step, and the acquired image is transmitted to the control device 50 in the machine room 14. The projection device 72 has a function of projecting an image or video in accordance with the situation, and projects the image or video across a plurality of steps 30 based on an instruction transmitted from the control device 50. Hereinafter, the description will be given including the output of light such as a projected image, video, and projection map.

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a projection position of the contents when no user gets on the steps, and fig. 4 is a front view. The manner in which the content 74 is projected and displayed across the plurality of rungs 30 is shown. In order to determine that no user, i.e., a passenger gets on the step, the operation state, the image captured by the imaging device, and the like are used. The absence of passengers may be any of a situation different from the normal operation, such as a low-speed standby operation or a stop-and-wait operation, and a situation in which the user does not ride on the steps 30 although the normal operation is performed. For example, an escalator in a commercial facility, an airport, or the like is assumed in a time zone where people do not board the steps 30 while they are traveling around. Alternatively, facilities in which a plurality of escalators are erected and the frequency of use of a specific machine is low may be used. In this case, the content 74 is displayed by projecting a large range over a plurality of steps on most of the steps 30, and forming a series of meanings to generate a recognition effect. The contents of the content 74 include an attention reminder and a display of a traveling direction when the user boards the escalator 10, a guidance display of facilities, information such as a degree of congestion of other floors, and other advertisement displays for advertisement. The pedestrian at a distance can also see the illustration, the language, and the like represented by symbols such as pictograms. The content 74 may be displayed by not only projection of an image or video but also a method using shadow or light projection mapping or the like. Even when the steps 30 of the escalator 10 are moving, the display position of the content 74 during projection is not changed, and the content appears at a fixed position across a plurality of steps 30 from the vicinity of the entrance of the lower floor to the intermediate position of the escalator as shown in fig. 4, for example, and can be seen by a user in the periphery including a pedestrian at a distance. However, the fixed position is not limited to the position shown in fig. 4, and may be a predetermined region extending over a plurality of steps 30 between the lower landing entrance and the upper landing entrance.

Next, a method of converting an image will be described with respect to the display of the content 74.

Fig. 5 is a diagram showing a distance from the projector 72 to a content projection position, and fig. 6 is a diagram showing a projection conversion state. When the escalator 10 body is viewed from the front, as shown in fig. 5, the distance from the projector 72 to the projection surface differs depending on the portion of the steps 30, and therefore, in order to eliminate the distortion of the projected content 74, it is necessary to convert the image in accordance with the depth, the shape of the irregularities, or the like. Therefore, as shown in fig. 6, generally, an image is corrected by using a projective transformation (homography transformation), and in the projective transformation (homography transformation), a projected image is divided by a square mesh, and a rectangle is deformed into a trapezoid as in (a) to (b). The quadrangle of the projection position is regarded as a combination of trapezoids, and is converted into a plurality of divided images (Japanese: 124670.

The conversion is performed by a general technique, and can be represented by the following formula (1), for example.

[ formula 1 ]

(X，Y，1) ^T ＝H _i.i (x，y，1) ^T …(1)

i and j are pixel positions of the two-dimensional image, H _i,j Is the arrangement of the transformation matrix. The steps 30 of the escalator 10 are moving in a certain direction and the transformation matrix will change over time. The steps 30 are provided in plural numbers, and the shapes thereof are all the same, and the moving speed is substantially constant, so that the same transformation matrix can be used at a constant cycle. Therefore, by repeating the projection conversion, the content 74 subjected to the distortion correction can be continuously projected.

The following expression (2) is a repetition period of the transformation matrix.

[ formula 2 ]

v is the running speed [ m/s ] of the escalator, and l is the travel distance [ m ] of the steps. The number of modes of the conversion matrix is calculated by performing image conversion in the number of frames per second.

The position and the traveling speed of the steps 30 are synchronized with the control device 50 of the escalator 10 body, and the correction of the content 74 can be smoothly performed.

Instead of being linked to the control device 50, the position and the running speed of the steps 30 may be calculated from the image acquired by the imaging device 70 and applied to the correction of the content 74. In this case, the speed and the like are estimated by observing the temporal change of the image using the contrast between the color of the safety line 305 and the color of the tread 303. Fig. 7 is a view related to three-dimensional recognition for determining the positions of the tread 303 and the riser 304 in order to estimate the projected position of the content 74 on the step 30, and the geometric positions of the tread 303 and the riser 304 are estimated from the contrast of the colors as described above. If the user is riding on the escalator 10 and staying on the steps 30, it can be determined that the user is a person from the position of the head or the feet, and besides, the safety margin line 305 becomes partially invisible, and a difference occurs between the safety margin line and a normal image, and the position can be recognized by this. In addition, not only a person but also the presence or absence of carry-on luggage such as a handbag can be determined.

By performing the projection conversion of the image in this way, even when one content 74 is projected across a plurality of steps 30, it is possible to prevent the displayed image from being displayed askew or in a curved manner, and to make the content 74 visible to the human eye with a recognition effect.

Fig. 8 shows the operation and the operation content of the control unit 500. The control unit 500 includes an operation status determination means 501, a person determination means (user presence determination means) 502, a content selection means 503, a projective transformation means 504, and a processing means 505. The control device 50 in the machine room 14 may also function as the control unit 500 including the above-described units.

The operation condition determination means 501 is a part of the functions of the control device 50 that determines the operation conditions such as the speed and direction of the escalator 10.

The person determination unit 502 determines whether or not a user is riding the ladder on the ladder steps from the operation state determination unit 501 and the imaging device 70. Here, the determination of the presence or absence of a passenger is shown, and the presence or absence of a passenger may be determined by detecting the presence or absence of a passenger riding on the escalator 10 by using a human sensor such as an infrared sensor near the riding entrance in addition to the imaging device 70.

The content selection means 503 selects the content 74 to be displayed on the rung 30 based on the determination result of the presence or absence of the passenger. In the case of no passenger, it is possible to project over a large range, for example, a large part of the steps 30 of the escalator 10, and thus select appropriate contents.

The projective transformation unit 504 extracts the selected content from the storage unit 510, and performs projective transformation on the image and the like of the content 74 based on the shape of the rung 30 and the distance from the projector 72 to the rung 30. The storage unit 510 is provided in the machine room 14.

The processing unit 505 performs processing by giving an instruction to the projection device 72 to project the selected and projectively transformed content 74 onto the rung 30.

Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the escalator 10 according to the present embodiment, and shows a flow of projecting contents onto the steps 30. Fig. 9 is a flow of an operation of projecting steps 30 across substantially the entire surface or a large area of the escalator 10 when no passenger is present.

As shown in fig. 9, the operation state determination means 501 of the control unit 500 in the escalator 10 determines whether or not the normal operation is being performed (step S101). The general escalator 10 is usually operated in an energy saving manner by low-speed standby operation or stop standby operation in a time zone when there is no user. The energy-saving operation is a method of reducing power consumption by controlling the operation speed of the escalator 10 during idling, and for example, the operation is performed by lowering the speed without a user to perform low-speed standby operation, and the operation is stopped after a certain time has elapsed and is switched to stop standby. Therefore, even if it is determined that there is no passenger when the normal operation is not being performed, the step of determining the presence or absence of a passenger by the imaging device 70 or the like can be omitted. When the normal operation is being performed (yes in step S101), the presence or absence of a passenger is determined by the person determining means 502 based on information obtained from the imaging device 70 or the sensor. When there is no passenger (no in step S102), since the content 74 can be displayed over a wide range across the plurality of steps 30, the content selection means 503 selects a content having an appropriate size and content (step S103). The projective transformation means 504 extracts the content selected in step S103 from the storage unit 510, and performs projective transformation on the image of the content 74 and the like based on the shape of the step 30 and the distance between the projection position of the projector 72 and the step 30, that is, the tread 303 and the riser 304 (step S104). When the steps such as low-speed standby operation or normal operation continue to operate at a constant speed, the images are converted for each divided image in accordance with the moving speed until the operating condition changes. Then, the processing unit 505 outputs a projection instruction of the content 74 to the projection device 72, and the projection device 72 that has issued the instruction projects an image of light or the like on the steps 30 (step S105).

In the case of abnormal operation such as low-speed standby operation or stop standby operation (no in step S101), since it is considered that there is no passenger even if the determination is not made by the imaging device 70 or the like, the step of determining the presence or absence of a passenger (step S102) is skipped, and the process proceeds to the step of determining appropriate contents 74 (step S103), which is the same as described above.

Further, since the content 74 is displayed in a wide range, the content 74 may be projected on the plurality of steps 30 without performing projective transformation on the projection image by the projective transformation unit 504. In this case, after step S103 of selecting a content to be projected by the content selection means 503, step S104 is omitted, and the process proceeds to step S105 of performing projection processing by issuing an instruction to project the content to the projection device 72. Accordingly, the number of steps can be reduced by one step, and the processing speed before the content is projected can be increased.

When a specific condition such as a low-speed standby operation is assumed in the case of performing the projective transformation, the content 74 subjected to the projective transformation in advance may be stored in the storage unit 510 under the specific condition, and after the step S103 of selecting the content 74 to be projected, the step S104 of the projective transformation may be omitted, and the process may proceed to the step S105 of the projection processing. Since the operation speed is known in the low-speed standby operation, the projection conversion performed every time in the past is not necessary by projecting the converted contents in synchronization with the step position, and the processing speed before the projection of the contents can be increased.

As described above, according to the embodiment of the present invention, the presence or absence of a passenger, i.e., a user riding the escalator, is determined based on the operation state and the acquired image, and when it is determined that there is no passenger, the contents 74 corresponding to the state are displayed over a wide range across the plurality of steps 30 of the escalator 10, whereby a part of the vacant space of the steps can be effectively used. Thus, for example, in a commercial facility, an airport, or the like, it is possible to visually present a picture for advertisement or promotion, an image for warning, or the like on the steps 30 of the escalator 10 to a large extent for a person passing on the lower floor side in a time zone where there is no passenger.

Further, by appropriately displaying the contents 74 subjected to image conversion while eliminating the influence of the difference in the projection positions of the plurality of steps 30, it is possible to reduce the distortion and to make pedestrians and the like around the escalator 10 see the contents 74.

< second embodiment >

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to fig. 10 to 14. In the following embodiments, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted. In contrast to the first embodiment, which is a method in which a user does not get on a step, the second embodiment relates to a projection system in which a user gets on a step and a passenger is present.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing a projection position in the case where a passenger is present. For example, a passenger a as a user gets on the steps 30 of the escalator 10 that is performing the ascending operation from the boarding plate 34 on the lower floor side. Showing how content 74 is projected onto steps 30 that are several steps forward of the step 30 that passenger a places his foot. When the projection is performed on a plurality of steps 30, a certain degree of spacing is required including the standing position of the passenger a, and therefore, it is desirable that the riding rate is 50% or less. In addition, instead of determining the boarding rate alone, it is also possible to perform projection while avoiding local congestion. When the overall congestion degree is high and the distance to the front passenger is short, the projection onto the plurality of steps 30 is not performed. The escalator 10 used is not limited to facilities in general public facilities, and may be an escalator having a long travel distance, which is often used for boarding a passenger standing in front at a distance and has a long boarding time, and therefore, the content display function is effective.

Fig. 11 is a front view showing an operation. As shown in fig. 10, the contents 74 are displayed in front of the line of sight of the passenger a riding on the steps 30, and the projection position of the contents 74 is moved from (a) to (b) in accordance with the running speed of the escalator. This allows the contents 74 to be projected in front of the line of sight of the passenger a at all times, and the passenger can be carried in a publicity-maintaining manner. The projection of the content 74 is performed by transforming the image for each predetermined divided image by projection transformation such as keystone correction using the above-described method and projecting the image. In addition, when a plurality of users board and there are a plurality of passengers and there is a free space between the passengers, the contents may be displayed for each passenger as shown in fig. 12.

The projected content 74 is assumed to be information effective for an administrator or facility, such as a text display related to a reminder when boarding the escalator 10, such as "please grasp an armrest", "do not move when boarding", a guidance display for a map or a facility at a destination place, information useful for passengers, such as a degree of congestion of other floors, and an advertisement.

Fig. 13 shows the operation and operation contents of the control unit 500 in the present embodiment. In addition to the configuration of fig. 8 described above, position determination section 506 and congestion degree determination section 507 are provided.

When it is determined by the person determining means 502 that there is a passenger, the position and the degree of congestion of the user in the escalator 10 are determined using the position determining means 506 that determines the position of the passenger a and the degree of congestion determining means 507 that estimates the degree of congestion from the boarding rate.

In the case where there is no passenger, since projection can be performed over a wide range, for example, most of the steps 30 of the escalator 10, the content selection unit 503 selects appropriate content, whereas in the case where there is a passenger, since the projection range is limited, the content selection unit 503 determines content matched with each as a display image. In addition to the size of the content, the publicity to passengers who are riding the elevator is also enhanced, and therefore, the content may be more appropriate.

Fig. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the escalator 10 according to the present embodiment, and shows a flow of projecting contents onto the steps 30. Fig. 14 is a flow of the content projection operation in the case where it is determined that there is a passenger and there is no congestion after fig. 9, which shows a flow in the case where there is no passenger. If it is determined in fig. 9 that a passenger is present (yes in step S102), the routine proceeds to the flowchart (B) of fig. 14.

As shown in fig. 14, when it is determined that a passenger is present, the position determination means 506 determines the position of the user (step S201), and the congestion degree determination means 507 estimates the congestion degree from the riding rate of the escalator 10 (step S202). Then, the approximate distance between the passengers is estimated by the imaging device 70 or the sensor (step S203). In the case of the imaging device 70, the intervals are estimated by human body recognition, for example, for the head, the shoulders, or the like based on the image, and in the case of the sensor, the intervals are respectively estimated from the time difference that reacts when the elevator is taken. When the degree of congestion in step S202 is equal to or less than the threshold value (yes in step S204) and the passengers are spaced apart from each other, it is determined whether or not the passengers have moved in the direction of travel in the escalator 10. When the passenger does not move from the initial step 30 position where the passenger is riding (no in step S206), the contents 74 having an appropriate size and contents are selected because the contents are displayed on a part of the escalator other than the step 30 where the passenger is located (step S207). The content 74 selected in step S207 is extracted from the storage unit 510, and an image or the like of the content 74 is projection-converted in accordance with the projection position based on the shape of the step 30 and the distance between the projection device 72 and the step 30, that is, the tread surface 303 and the riser 304 (step S208). The projection device 72 outputs an instruction to project the projection-converted contents to the projection device 72, and the projection device 72, which has issued the instruction, projects an image of light or the like on the steps 30 several steps ahead of the standing position of the subject user when there is the estimated passenger interval (step S209). Then, the image is projected together with the movement thereof in accordance with the operating condition.

If the degree of congestion in step S202 is greater than the threshold value (no in step S204), if there is no gap between passengers in step S203 (no in step S205), or if a passenger moves from the step 30 on which the passenger is riding (yes in step S206), the flow ends without performing image projection.

However, when the passenger moves in step S206, the projection may be performed at a position forward of the normal position as shown in fig. 15. The content 74 at this time is desirably a reminder of attention, for example, a text such as "please pay attention to the heel" or a mark indicating the information.

As described in the first embodiment, the content 74 may be projected onto the plurality of steps 30 without projectively transforming the projection image by the projective transformation unit 504. In this case, after step S207 of selecting the content 74 to be projected by the content selection means 503, the process proceeds to step S105 of performing projection processing by giving an instruction to project the content to the projection device 72. Accordingly, the number of steps can be reduced by one step, and the processing speed before the content is projected can be increased.

Although the above description has been made assuming the ascending operation, the projection of the content 74 is not limited to the operation direction. In contrast to the ascending operation in which the display content 74 follows the movement in accordance with the operation state of the escalator 10, particularly the operation speed, in the case of the descending operation, the pedestrian on the lower floor side may be continuously projected to a fixed position across a plurality of steps 30 near the lower floor as shown in fig. 16. However, in the case of projection to a fixed position, the projection is ended before the projected content 74 overlaps with the passenger.

In addition, as shown in fig. 17, the content 74 may be displayed over a wide range to any one side across a plurality of steps 30 after the position and the degree of congestion of the user are determined. Further, the height and the position of the line of sight of the user may be detected from the image acquired by the imaging device 70, and the content 74 may be projected after being converted to be displayable at a suitable position. In this case, the position is detected by pattern recognition of the shape of the head of the user in advance. By projecting in consideration of the position of the viewpoint, the content can be seen more easily understood.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, when a passenger is present in the escalator or when boarding to a step is detected, the contents image to be displayed is selected in accordance with the situation such as the position and the degree of congestion of the user, the enclosure is displayed and projected onto the escalator 10, and thereby the passenger, which is the user who is riding on the escalator, can be made to see the display with effectiveness. This enables effective use of a part of the vacant space of the step. For example, in a commercial facility, an airport, or the like, a large image for advertisement or promotion, an image for calling attention, or the like can be visually displayed on the steps 30 of the escalator 10 for a passenger in a time zone in which the passenger is present. In addition, in the case where there is a passenger, particularly in the case of the ascending operation, the passenger riding on the step can be visibly irradiated, and in the case of the descending operation, the propaganda can be performed to the person on the lower floor side before the step riding.

Further, as the passenger conveyor to which the present invention is applied, a system in which a person is conveyed by moving at a constant speed while projecting the person onto steps of an escalator that performs conveyance across upper and lower floors has been described as an example, but the present invention may be applied to other passenger conveyors such as a horizontal type escalator or an inclined type escalator, that is, a so-called moving walkway (automated road), as long as the passenger conveyor conveys a person. In the case of application to a moving walkway, appropriate contents are projected from above the tread surface to a plurality of steps. Further, the line of sight may be positioned above the projection position, and the angle may be adjusted by performing image conversion of content matching the line of sight, such as projection conversion by trapezoidal correction, in order to eliminate viewing discomfort due to formation of the angle.

In this way, in the moving walkway, publicity and comfort during movement can be improved by visually displaying some of the advertisements or the like to the passengers who are riding the walkway.

The embodiments and some modifications of the present invention have been described, but the embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These new embodiments can be implemented in other various ways, and various omissions, substitutions, and changes can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. These embodiments and modifications thereof are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the claims and the scope of equivalents thereof.

Claims

1. A projection system for an escalator in which a plurality of steps connected in an endless manner travel, comprising:

a projection device which is located above the appearance position of the steps on the lower floor side and outputs content displayed across a plurality of steps in conjunction with the escalator; a user presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a user is present on the step, thereby determining whether or not the step is idle; a content selection unit that selects the content to be output based on the determination result of the user presence determination unit; and a processing unit that outputs the decided projection instruction of the content to the projection device to process the content.

2. Escalator projection system according to claim 1,

the projection system of the escalator includes an operation condition determination unit that determines operation conditions such as a moving speed and an operation direction of the steps, and when the operation condition determination unit determines that the operation conditions are different from a normal operation, the user presence/absence determination unit determines that no user is present, and determines that a wide range of the steps is idle, the content selection unit selects a content that can be displayed in the wide range of the steps, and the projection device continuously projects the content to a fixed position.

3. Escalator projection system according to claim 2,

the projection system of the escalator further includes a projection conversion unit that converts an image of the content selected by the content selection unit for each of the divided images that match the operation condition based on the shape of the steps and the distance from the projection device to the projection position of the steps, and the processing in the processing unit corrects the content via the projection conversion unit.

4. Escalator projection system according to claim 3,

when the operation status is a low-speed standby operation, the projective transformation unit transforms the image for each of the divided images in accordance with the moving speed, and the transformed content continues to appear at a fixed position until the low-speed standby operation is ended.

5. Escalator projection system according to claim 3,

when the operation status is stop-and-wait, the projective transformation unit transforms an image at the start of projection, and the transformed content continues to appear at a fixed position until the stop-and-wait ends.

6. Escalator projection system according to claim 1,

the projection system of the escalator comprises at least one of a human detection sensor which is arranged near a landing entrance of the escalator and detects the approach of a human or an imaging device which is arranged above a lower floor of the escalator and images and acquires information of the steps, and the user existence judging unit judges whether the user exists or not based on the information acquired by the human detection sensor or the imaging device and judges whether the steps are idle or not based on the information.

7. Escalator projection system according to claim 6,

the user presence/absence determination unit determines that the wide range of the step is idle when it is determined that there is no user based on either the human motion sensor or the imaging device, the content selection unit selects a content that can be displayed in the wide range of the step, and the projection device continuously projects the content to a fixed position.

8. Escalator projection system according to claim 6,

the projection system of the escalator includes an operation condition determination unit that determines an operation condition such as a moving speed and an operation direction of the steps, wherein when the user presence/absence determination unit determines that a user is present based on either the human detection sensor or the imaging device and the operation condition determination unit determines that the operation direction of the escalator is a descending operation, the content selection unit selects the content having a size that can be displayed on the steps of a predetermined number of steps, and the projection device projects the content to a fixed position before the user approaching along with the operation of the escalator overlaps a projection position.

9. Escalator projection system according to claim 6,

the projection system of the escalator further includes a position determination unit configured to estimate a position of the user riding on the steps, the user presence/absence determination unit determines presence/absence of another user in front of the user obtained from the position determination unit when the user is determined to be present based on the imaging device, the content selection unit selects the content having a size that can be displayed between the users in front and behind when a plurality of users are present on the escalator, and the projection device projects the content behind the user in front of the target user so as to continuously maintain a distance from the target user.

10. Escalator projection system according to claim 9,

the projection system of the escalator further includes a congestion degree determination unit that determines a congestion degree of a user who is riding the escalator, and the content selection unit selects the content having a size that can be displayed on the steps of two or more levels when the congestion degree is equal to or less than a threshold value and an interval between users is equal to or greater than a certain interval.

11. Escalator projection system according to claim 6,

the projection system of the escalator further includes a position determination unit that estimates a position of the user riding on the steps and a congestion degree determination unit that determines a congestion degree of the user riding on the steps, and the content selection unit selects the content in consideration of a size of a free space of the steps when the congestion degree obtained by the congestion degree determination unit is equal to or less than a threshold value and a free space is determined over a wide range from one side of a moving direction of the steps to a position of the user obtained by the position determination unit.

12. Escalator projection system according to one of claims 6 to 11,

the projection system of the escalator may further include an operation state determination unit that determines an operation state such as a movement speed and an operation direction of the steps, and a projection conversion unit that converts an image of the content selected by the content selection unit for each divided image matching the operation state based on a shape of the steps and a distance from the projection device to a projection position of the steps, wherein the processing in the processing unit corrects the content via the projection conversion unit.

13. Escalator projection system according to claim 12,

in addition to the operating condition, movement of the steps is detected by extracting contrast of colors of the steps in an image acquired by the photographing device.

14. A projection system of a passenger conveyor, in which a plurality of steps connected in a loop form travel, characterized by comprising:

a photographing device which is located above the appearance position of the step and photographs and acquires information of the step; a user presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a user is present on the step based on information obtained by the imaging device, thereby determining whether or not the step is idle; a position determination unit that determines a position of the user when the presence/absence determination unit determines that the user is present; a content selection unit that selects a content to be output based on a determination result of either or both of the user presence determination unit and the position determination unit; a projective transformation unit that transforms the content based on a distance from an output position of the content to a display position of the content or a distance from the user to the display position of the content; a processing unit that processes the content determined based on the presence or absence of the user and the determination result of the position of the user via the projective transformation unit, and outputs a projection instruction; and a projection device which is located above the appearance position of the step, receives the projection instruction output from the processing unit, and outputs the content; the content is displayed across a plurality of the rungs.

15. A projection system of a horizontal passenger conveyor, in which a plurality of steps connected in a loop form travel, characterized by comprising:

a photographing device which is located above the appearance position of the step and photographs and acquires information of the step; a user presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a user is present on the step based on information obtained by the imaging device, and determines whether or not the step is idle; a position determination unit configured to estimate a viewpoint approximately from a position of the user when the presence/absence determination unit determines that the user is present; a content selecting unit that selects a content having a size that can be viewed by the user without moving during display, based on a result of the position determining unit; a projective transformation unit that transforms the content based on a distance from the viewpoint to a display position of the content; a processing unit that processes the determined content via the projective transformation unit and outputs a projection instruction; and a projection device which is located above the appearance position of the step, receives the projection instruction output from the processing unit, and outputs the content to the front of the user.

16. A projection system of a tilting passenger conveyor in which a plurality of steps connected in an endless manner travel and treads of the steps continuously travel at a certain angle, comprising:

a photographing device which is located above the appearance position of the step and photographs and acquires information of the step; a user presence/absence determination unit that determines whether or not a user is present on the step based on information obtained by the imaging device, thereby determining whether or not the step is idle; a position determination unit configured to estimate a viewpoint approximately from a position of the user when the presence/absence determination unit determines that the user is present; a content selecting unit that selects a content having a size that can be viewed by the user without moving during display, based on a result of the position determining unit; a projective transformation unit that transforms the content based on a distance from the viewpoint to a display position of the content; a processing unit that processes the determined content via the projective transformation unit and outputs a projection instruction; and a projection device which is located above the appearance position of the step, receives the projection instruction output from the processing unit, and outputs the content to the front of the user.